NJSBA Family Law Section

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New One on Me

  • 1.  New One on Me

    Posted 09-17-2015 04:50 PM

    Good afternoon:

     

    I may be behind the times but this is a new one on me.

    I sent in a divorce complaint for filing in Monmouth County. The Confidential Litigant Information Sheet was filed in on my client's side only, other than the defendant's name (the defendant happens to live in Egypt and has never lived in the U.S.).

    I received a call advising me that they needed the defendant's date of birth and SS# (he does not have one and they will accept that as true) before they canj file the complaint because they need it for the child support guidelines. P.S. The complaint does not ask for child support nor could the court order it because the defendant has never lived here!

     

    ARRRGHHH!

    ------------------------------
    Robert Goldstein Esq.
    Manalapan NJ
    (732)972-1600
    ------------------------------



  • 2.  RE: New One on Me

    Posted 09-17-2015 05:08 PM

    Happened to me . . .


    I had a complaint bounced back to me for "failure to complete" the Confidential Litigant's information sheet (I only did the Plaintiff's side).  The intake person repeatedly insisted that the AOC states that the form must be completed so after unsuccessfully arguing with the intake person that it does not even make sense that I would have the "confidential" information of the other side (even though often times we do) . . . , I contacted the AOC and they clarified that it certainly was not their intent to have both sides filled out by either party and they contacted that court to inform them as much . . . it may have been Monmouth, but not sure I remember which vicinage.

    Good luck,

    Jill
    ------------------------------
    Jill LaZare Esq.
    Summit NJ
    (908)219-4366
    ------------------------------




  • 3.  RE: New One on Me

    Posted 09-17-2015 05:22 PM
    Jill:



    I was stunned when I was told that this has been the "directive" since 2012!



    Robert E. Goldstein, Esq.
    Drescher & Cheslow, P.A.

    610 Bridge Plaza Drive

    Manalapan, NJ 07726

    (732) 972-1600
    Fax (732) 972-0038
    E-mail: [email protected]
    Member, Middlesex County Bar Association, New Jersey Association for Justice
    and New Jersey State Bar Association


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  • 4.  RE: New One on Me

    Posted 09-18-2015 11:46 AM
    Bob:

    New one for me, too. With the provision now that one is not supposed to even serve a copy of the CLIS to the other side, it's almost like neither party is supposed to know anything on the other side of the document anyway! So, if everything is supposed to be so confidential, what the Clerk is doing is almost antithetical. Interestingly, if you recall, the former version of the form was only applicable to information relative to the party completing the form

    Welcome to the world of "form over substance".

    [cid:[email protected]]
    Mark F. Saker, Esquire
    Attorney ID #271831971
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  • 5.  RE: New One on Me

    Posted 09-17-2015 07:13 PM

    Just had it happen in Burlington. Client didn't know all the other spouse's information - case management rejected the complaint twice. Other side then applied for default - a motion was eventually required to work it out. Obviously, the court "can't" require a person to supply information they don't have in order to file for divorce or answer a complaint, but until a case goes up on appeal, case management can keep doing so. They're usually very helpful and cooperative down there, but when they're bad, they're very bad.

    ------------------------------
    David Perry Davis, Esq.
    112 West Franklin Avenue
    Pennington, NJ 08534
    www.FamilyLawNJ.pro
    Voice: 609-737-2222
    Fax: 609-737-3222
    ------------------------------



  • 6.  RE: New One on Me

    Posted 09-17-2015 10:34 PM

    Call the AOC...

    ------------------------------
    Jill LaZare Esq.
    Summit NJ
    (908)219-4366
    ------------------------------




  • 7.  RE: New One on Me

    Posted 09-18-2015 08:44 AM
    Not unusual at all. I had one there where parties had been separated for years, my client was out of the house and other spouse took care of all financials. Complaint was bounced because of no SS for other spouse. When I called and said we didn't have it I was told by case worker she did not believe me. When I explained why she said get it from IRS. When I said that could take months she told me no, she had to do it for her divorce and it didn't take that long. If I hadn't been the one on the phone with her I would have thought someone was exaggerating.

    Richard F. Roy, Jr., Esquire
    COMEGNO LAW GROUP, P.C.
    521 Pleasant Valley Avenue
    Moorestown, NJ 08057
    (856) 505-6642 (direct dial)
    (856) 234-4114 (main #)
    (856) 234-4262 (fax #)
    email: [email protected]
    www.comegnolaw.com




  • 8.  RE: New One on Me

    Posted 09-18-2015 10:03 AM

    Apparently, the AOC instructs Complaints to be bounced if the Confidential Litigant's Information Sheet is no completely filled out - - -there are court employees who take that literally and until someone from the AOC instructs them that that applies only to completely filling out the form for the one party the attorney represents, they will not understand that they should accept the Sheet with only one side completely filled out.

    Take the name of the court employee who bounces it and does not understand what the AOC was instructing and call the AOC with that person's name - not to get them in trouble, but to have someone at the AOC explain to them that one side completely filled out is what was meant and that they must file the papers with one side filled out.

    Good luck,

    Jill


    ------------------------------
    Jill LaZare Esq.
    Summit NJ
    (908)219-4366
    ------------------------------




  • 9.  RE: New One on Me

    Posted 09-18-2015 10:10 AM
      |   view attached
    Perhaps this is a subject someone from the family section board can work
    with the AOC to modify the form. I am sure it will NOT be an overnight
    process. However, if it was just formatted for "our client" and not both
    parties, the situation some seem to be experiencing will go away. I for one,
    have told them, when asked, "unfortunately, my client does not know that
    info about the other party - we inserted whatever info we knew" and have
    never had a filing bounced due to this.but it seems to be happening. So,
    format change may resolve this issue.



    Thanks,


    Jason Flynn, Esq.
    Law Offices of Jason I. Flynn LLC

    85 Main Street - Suite 302
    Hackensack, New Jersey 07601
    (201) 880-6630 Office
    (201) 293-0445 Fax

    (201) 247-7667 Cell
    <mailto:[email protected]> [email protected]

    <http: www.jasonflynnlaw.com/=""> www.jasonflynnlaw.com




  • 10.  RE: New One on Me

    Posted 09-18-2015 11:40 AM

    Just write to Judge Lihotz as Chair of Family Practice.  This is easier than everyone thinks.

    ------------------------------
    Dale Console Esq.
    Kingston NJ
    (609)683-0003
    ------------------------------




  • 11.  RE: New One on Me

    Posted 09-18-2015 02:45 PM
    I've had several sent back from Burlington and Gloucester. I send clients
    to the IRS to get an old tax return printout to get the social security
    numbers.




  • 12.  RE: New One on Me

    Posted 09-18-2015 02:45 PM
    I've had several sent back. I now send clients to the IRS to get an old tax
    return printout with the info.




  • 13.  RE: New One on Me

    Posted 09-18-2015 11:21 AM

    I had one returned, and the only way it was accepted was after we filled out as much as we knew, and wrote "unknown" in every space that we did not know.

    ------------------------------
    Jenny Berse Esq.
    Cranford NJ
    (855) FAM-LAW1
    ------------------------------




  • 14.  RE: New One on Me

    Posted 09-18-2015 11:56 AM

    If we could get an order refusing to file a complaint for not having both sides of the CLIS filled out, someone could take it up to the App Div, but it's a catch-22... refusing to docket it means no docket number, hence no order to appeal. Someone have a client that wants to cover the cost of an Action in Lieu of Prerogative Writ to compel the clerk to accept a complaint for filing? Maybe when someone wins the lottery or there's some other vital reason to establish a complaint date in a case?

    AOC needs to clarify that each party is required to fill out their own information only.

    Yes, changing forms isn't usually a quick process. This was also, coincidentally, discussed yesterday at Bench-Bar in reference to FD complaints that have check boxes for "sole legal custody" and "joint legal custody", but then require the filing party to designate that the child(ren) will live either with plaintiff or defendant - there's no box for "joint / shared residential custody." I know that this causes problems - received two upset calls from pro se litigants who were sharing custody and then received paperwork saying the other party was asking for custody - they thought the other party was looking to fight or had asked for custody behind his/her back instead of asking for shared / joint custody. There needs to be a third check box: "Child(ren) to live with: ___ Plaintiff   ___ Defendant  ___ Shared residential custody." It's a legally available custody status and the form FD complaint should reflect it.

    Anyway - I like Jenny Berse's idea of putting "unknown" in every box. I've put "information in sole possession of other party" on insurance affidavits when client doesn't know and never had one rejected for it.

    ------------------------------
    David Perry Davis, Esq.
    112 West Franklin Avenue
    Pennington, NJ 08534
    www.FamilyLawNJ.pro
    Voice: 609-737-2222
    Fax: 609-737-3222
    ------------------------------